The FASEB Science Research Conference on Virus Structure and Assembly is the premier meeting for structural virology and the application of structure to our understanding of the progression of events that are the virus lifecycle: receptor binding, entry, intracellular trafficking, uncoating, replication, assembly, and exit. These topics are explored in formal talks, poster sessions, and intensive scientific discussion. A number of factors make the Virus Structure and Assembly Conference distinctive and exceptional. The combination of disciplines represented encourages scientists to think outside the boundaries of their own approaches. The breadth of topics with a single focus supports the rapid transfer of technology to studies of different viruses. The meeting is organized so that along with state of the art presentations, there is ample opportunity for scientific discussion with speakers and colleagues to encourage collaboration. Perhaps most importantly, the organization of the meeting is designed so that young scientists, students and post-docs in particular, are encouraged to develop their scientific careers; they are selected for poster talks and encouraged to participate in Meet the Expert sessions with speakers. For 2014, the underlying theme is the structural basis of how viruses interact with and respond to their environment. This theme guides us in our selection of speakers, though their respective research ranges from translational application to basic science.